John Wesley Shipp burst onto the daytime scene in 1980 as Dr. Kelly Nelson on Guiding Light, a role he would play until 1984. From there, he moved over to As the World Turns, where he played the villainous Douglas Cummings from 1985-1986. His character stalked Kim Hughes (Kathryn Hays), and he later kidnapped Kim and Frannie (Julianne Moore). He was murdered with a letter opener and Kim stood trial for his murder.
Soap Bubble
In 1986, Shipp won the Outstanding Supporting Actor award at the Daytime Emmys. In 1987, Shipp joined Santa Barbara briefly, as Martin Ellis, a role that would net him his second Daytime Emmy, this time in the Outstanding Guest Performer category. In 1992 Shipp saw his abusive character of Carter Jones appear both on All My Children & Loving. In his last soap role to date, John joined One Life to Live in 2010 as Eddie Ford, the abusive father of Robert “Ford” (David A. Gregory), James (Nic Roebuck), and Nate (Lenny Platt). That was not his first time in Llanview, though! The actor played Blanchard Lovelace very briefly in 1989.
“Primed”time” And Ready
The actor appeared on the primetime drama Dawson’s Creek, where he played Dawson Leery’s dad, Mitch. The character died in a tragic car accident.
Shipp is also well known for his time as the superhero The Flash, which he played on his own show, The Flash in 1990-1991. His days in The Flash universe were not over though, because he starred as Barry Allen’s (aka The Flash) father in the CW series of the same name, from 2014-2023.
That Shipp Has Sailed
John will be starring in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, alongside his former OLTL character’s son, David A. Gregory (Robert “Ford”). The two men have worked together numerous times since their time playing father and son. Soap Hub got the opportunity to catch up with the Gregory this week to chat about life, his career, and more! To get tickets for the show, click here.
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